Toxoplasma gondii in Spanish commercial dry-cured meat products

Toxoplasmosis is an infection caused by Toxoplasma gondii, the transmission of which has usually been attributed to ingestion of undercooked or raw meat. Epidemiological studies also mention cured meat products as a potential risk factor for acquiring toxoplasmosis. With the aim of contributing to the risk assessment process, 552 samples of commercial dry-cured hams/shoulders and dry-cured sausages of different trademarks from different localities in Spain were randomly purchased for analysis. These were, specifically, 311 dry-cured hams/shoulders and 241 dry-cured sausages (76 samples of chorizo, 75 samples of fuet/longaniza, and 90 samples of salchichón). Additionally, data featured on labels of each meat product were gathered with the purpose of studying the influence of curing time and salt content, among other parameters, on the viability of Toxoplasma. Real-time polymerase chain reaction technique (qPCR) was performed to detect T. gondii DNA in the samples, and infectivity was determined by mouse bioassay of positive qPCR samples. The presence of T. gondii was detected in 57 samples (10.3%), with a parasite load between 28.05 and 35.66 Ct. Bioassay test showed that 47 out of the 57 meat products in which the parasite has been detected produced mice seropositive response (IFA), which represents 8.5 of the total number of samples analyzed. Of those samples, DNA of Toxoplasma gondii in mice brain was detected in 6 meat products, indicating its viability (1.1%). Ct values obtained by qPCR in the brains of seropositive mice ranged from 33.10 to 36.04. According to product type, the parasite was viable in 3 dry-cured ham/shoulder samples and in 3 salchichón samples. Statistical analysis showed that none of the variables under consideration detailed on the meat product labels had a significant influence on the viability of the parasite. In conclusion, we found a low prevalence of the infective forms of Toxoplasma gondii in cured meat products, although the risk for consumers cannot be completely excluded. However, scientific monitoring of commercial meat products continues to be necessary in order to provide data for risk assessment of Toxoplasma gondii through the meat industry's Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP-based self-control system). In order to ensure that consumers can make a safe choice among these ready-to-eat products, it is important for food labels to include information on those parameters which are relevant for the survival of the parasite, such as curing times, or freezing treatment of meat used as an ingredient

The management of extensive livestock systems and its relationship with greenhouse gas emissions

During food fermentation, the digestive system of bovines generates methane gas as agricultural waste. Considering this, this study intended to evaluate different relationships between production type and management technologies, with enteric methane and nitrous oxide emissions, from beef cattle systems in the southern region of the San Luis province. To achieve this objective, 30 semi-structured surveys were conducted with regional producers. The producers were generally characterized, and the emissions were estimated through the application of the IPCC Level 2 protocols. Then, considering various techniques for technology management and adoption, these emissions were analyzed and compared. The production systems resulted to be heterogeneous in area, number of cattle, rodeo management, livestock unit, production, and other aspects. The estimated emission values were also variable depending on the form of expression, the management strategy adopted, and the production system applied. From a reductionist perspective of the aspects that characterize the extensive livestock systems evaluated, greenhouse gases emission values (GHG) are relative to the interaction of some predictive variables with the key factors of the production system and management techniques applied. Thus, when considering the emissions per kg sold, cow-calf+backgrounding or backgrounding systems, are environmentally more friendly than those of cow-calf, being the bull category the most sensitive to gas emissions. However, moderate or very good management in the cow-calf systems, tend to reduce them. Since the characteristics of the systems are so diverse, even for the same region, a broader and more integrated view is proposed for the expression of emissions, given by the set of variables that reflect the integral behavior of the system

Photoactivation and photoregeneration of TiO2/PAC mixture applied in suspension in water treatments: approach to a real application

The process TiO2/PAC/UV-vis has been under study and compared with the isolated treatments of adsorption and photocatalysis determining possible synergies between adsorption and photocatalysis of target antibiotics: amoxicillin, enrofloxacin, sulfadiazine, and trimethoprim. The characterization of the TiO2/PAC mixture was carried out via FESEM and FTIR. Moreover, a kinetic study has been performed. The effect of UV-vis radiation and the type of matrix was analyzed in TiO2/PAC/UV-vis process. The performance of this treatment has been monitored during three cycles, evaluating also the regeneration of TiO2/PAC mixture by UV-vis light. TiO2/PAC/UV-vis process allowed the removal of the antibiotics in the range 90–100% (an average removal of 93% of the initial concentration) after 60 min of treatment. However, only amoxicillin showed a significant synergy applying TiO2/PAC/UV-vis process. Regarding matrix effect, no influence of the matrix type (ultrapure water or treated wastewater) was observed. Since PAC tends to be deactivated gradually, the TiO2/PAC/UV-vis process performance decreases after each cycle in a 15% average. Finally, regeneration via UV-vis light started to be effective after a total of 4 h of regeneration

The management of extensive livestock systems and its relationship with greenhouse gas emissions

During food fermentation, the digestive system of bovines generates methane gas as agricultural waste. Considering this, this study intended to evaluate different relationships between production type and management technologies, with enteric methane and nitrous oxide emissions, from beef cattle systems in the southern region of the San Luis province. To achieve this objective, 30 semi-structured surveys were conducted with regional producers. The producers were generally characterized, and the emissions were estimated through the application of the IPCC Level 2 protocols. Then, considering various techniques for technology management and adoption, these emissions were analyzed and compared. The production systems resulted to be heterogeneous in area, number of cattle, rodeo management, livestock unit, production, and other aspects. The estimated emission values were also variable depending on the form of expression, the management strategy adopted, and the production system applied. From a reductionist perspective of the aspects that characterize the extensive livestock systems evaluated, greenhouse gases emission values (GHG) are relative to the interaction of some predictive variables with the key factors of the production system and management techniques applied. Thus, when considering the emissions per kg sold, cow-calf+backgrounding or backgrounding systems, are environmentally more friendly than those of cow-calf, being the bull category the most sensitive to gas emissions. However, moderate or very good management in the cow-calf systems, tend to reduce them. Since the characteristics of the systems are so diverse, even for the same region, a broader and more integrated view is proposed for the expression of emissions, given by the set of variables that reflect the integral behavior of the system.Los bovinos, dado su sistema digestivo, generan gas metano como residuo durante la fermentación del alimento consumido. El objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar relaciones entre tipo de producción y tecnologías de manejo con las emisiones de metano entérico y óxido nitroso generado por el ganado bovino en sistemas extensivos del sur de San Luis. Para ello, se realizaron 30 encuestas semiestructuradas a productores de la región. Se realizó una caracterización general de los productores, se estimaron las emisiones mediante la aplicación de los protocolos del Nivel 2 del IPCC y se analizaron y relacionaron las emisiones teniendo en cuenta diversas técnicas de adopción y manejo de tecnologías. Se trata de sistemas productivos heterogéneos en sus distintas dimen-siones (superficie, cantidad de ganado, manejo del rodeo, carga animal, producción etc.). Los valores de las emisiones estimadas también fueron variables dependiendo de la forma de expresión, el manejo adoptado y el sistema productivo aplicado. Desde una mirada reduccionista de los aspectos que caracterizan los sistemas ganaderos exten-sivos evaluados, los valores de emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero (GEI) son relativos a la interacción de algunas variables predictivas con los factores tipo de sistema de producción y técnicas de manejo aplicadas. Así, al considerar las emisiones por kg vendido, los sistemas cría+recría o recría resultan más amigables con el ambiente que los de cría, siendo la categoría toro la más sensible a las emisiones de gases. Sin embargo, un manejo moderado o muy buen manejo en los sistemas de cría conduce a reducirlas. Al ser tan diversas las características de los sistemas, aún para una misma región, se propone una visión más amplia e integrada para la expresión de las emisiones, dada por el conjunto de variables que reflejan el comportamiento integral del sistema.EEA CatamarcaFil: Nieto, Maria Isabel. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Catamarca; ArgentinaFil: Frigerio, Karina Laura. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria San Luis; ArgentinaFil: Reiné, Ramón. Universidad de Zaragoza. Escuela Politécnica Superior. Departamento de Ciencias Agrarias y del Medio Natural; EspañaFil: Barrantes, Olivia. Universidad de Zaragoza. Facultad de Veterinaria. Departamento de Ciencias Agrarias y del Medio Natural; España. Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón; EspañaFil: Privitello, Liliana. Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias Agropecuarias. Departamento de Ciencias Agropecuarias; Argentin

Oxidation of CO and methanol on Pd-Ni catalysts supported on different chemically-treated carbon nanofibers

In this work, palladium-nickel nanoparticles supported on carbon nanofibers were synthesized, with metal contents close to 25 wt % and Pd:Ni atomic ratios near to 1:2. These catalysts were previously studied in order to determine their activity toward the oxygen reduction reaction. Before the deposition of metals, the carbon nanofibers were chemically treated in order to generateoxygen and nitrogen groups on their surface. Transmission electron microscopy analysis (TEM) images revealed particle diameters between 3 and 4 nm, overcoming the sizes observed for thenanoparticles supported on carbon black (catalyst Pd-Ni CB 1:2). From the CO oxidation at different temperatures, the activation energy Eact for this reaction was determined. These values indicated a high tolerance of the catalysts toward the CO poisoning, especially in the case of the catalystssupported on the non-chemically treated carbon nanofibers. On the other hand, apparent activation energy Eap for the methanol oxidation was also determined finding—as a rate determining step—the COads diffusion to the OHads for the catalysts supported on carbon nanofibers. The results here presented showed that the surface functional groups only play a role in the obtaining of lower particlesizes, which is an important factor in the obtaining of low CO oxidation activation energies

Parent Actions, Dualities and New Weyl-invariant Actions of Bosonic p-branes

By using the systematic approach of parent action method, we derive one Weyl-noninvariant and two Weyl-invariant actions of bosonic $p$-branes ($p\geq 2$) starting from the Nambu-Goto action, and establish the duality symmetries in this set of four actions. Moreover, we discover a new bosonic $p$-brane action (including the string theory) and deduce two corresponding Weyl-invariant formulations by proposing a new special parent action. We find that the same duality symmetries as those mentioned above exist in this new set of actions. The new $p$-brane actions are also briefly analyzed.Comment: 19 pages, 14 figures. The first section is modified slightly, and references are adde

Use of the red gypsum industrial waste as substitute of natural gypsum for commercial cements manufacturing

El objetivo de esta investigación ha sido analizar la valorización de un residuo generado en el proceso de producción de dióxido de titanio (vía sulfato), denominado yeso rojo, en la producción de cementos. Dicho residuo está compuesto fundamentalmente por sulfato de calcio di-hidratado e hidróxidos de hierro. Para ello, ha sido necesaria la caracterización físico-química del yeso rojo, así como la de los otros componentes fundamentales en la fabricación de cementos y de los cementos generados con el mencionado residuo. Además, en el caso del yeso rojo, se ha analizado su contenido radiactivo al generarse éste en una industria NORM (Natural Occurring Radioactive Materials). Posteriormente, se han estudiado las propiedades más importantes de los cementos producidos con diferentes porcentajes de yeso rojo añadido, comparando estas mezclas con las propiedades de un cemento Portland comercial, comprobándose que se cumplen todas las normas europeas de calidad exigibles.The main objective of this research has been the valorisation of a waste from the TiO2 production process (sulphate method), called red gypsum, in the production of cements. This waste is mainly formed by di-hydrate calcium sulphate and iron hydroxides. To cover this objective it has been necessary to perform the physicochemical characterisation of the red gypsum as well as the main components in the production of cements and of the new cements generated. Moreover, for the red gypsum, has been analyzed its radioactive content because it is generated in a NORM (Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials) industry. Finally, the most important properties of the obtained cements with different proportions of red gypsum in their composition have been studied by comparing them with the standard ones obtained in a Portland cement. Lastly, we have demonstrated that the new cements fulfil all the quality tests imposed by the European legislation.This work has been supported by the PROFIT Project “Valorization of red gypsum from the industrial production of titanium dioxide” (CIT-310200-2007-47)

IFCP Riemann solver: Application to tsunami modelling using GPUs

In this work, we present a simplified two-layer model of Savage-Hutter type to simulate tsunamis generated by landslides (see (Fern´andez et al. 2008)). A layer composed of fluidized granular material is assumed to flow within an upper layer composed of an inviscid fluid (e.g. water). The sediment layer ismodelled by a Savage-Hutter type model where buoyancy effects have been considered. The system is discretized using IFCP finite volume scheme. The first order IFCP scheme was introduced in (Fern´andez et al. 2011) and it is constructed by using a suitable decomposition of a Roe matrix by means of a parabolic viscosity matrix, that captures information of the intermediate fields (Intermediate Field Capturing Parabola). Its extension to high order and two-dimensional domains is straightforward. To conclude, some numerical examples are presente

A randomised open-label study of tiagabine given two or three times daily in refractory epilepsy

SummaryEfficacy and tolerability of tiagabine was evaluated in patients with non-controlled partial seizures in a multicentre, open-label, parallel group study. Tiagabine was administered either two (b.i.d.) or three times daily (t.i.d.) as adjunctive therapy and titrated stepwise to a target of 40mg/day during a 12-week, fixed-schedule titration period; this was followed by a 12-week flexible continuation period. The primary efficacy endpoint was the proportion of patients completing the fixed-schedule titration period. A total of 243 patients were randomised and received treatment, 123 to b.i.d. and 120 to t.i.d. dosing. Fewer patients in the b.i.d. (76 and 62%) than in the t.i.d. (87 and 72%) group completed the fixed-schedule titration period (OR: 0.562; 95% CI: 0.309–1.008; P=0.0532). The median percentage decrease in all types of seizure (excluding status epilepticus) during the fixed schedule titration period was 33.4% for the b.i.d. and 23.8% for the t.i.d. groups (P=0.9634; Van Elteren's test). The proportion of responders was similar for the b.i.d. and t.i.d. groups. There were no significant differences between dosage regimens in the change in median seizure rates from baseline. Adverse events were more frequent during the titration than the continuation period. Most events were mild and related to the central nervous system. Although their incidence was similar between treatment groups, severity was more frequent in the b.i.d. group. Our results suggest that during titration tiagabine is better tolerated with t.i.d. dosing, but during long-term maintenance, a t.i.d. schedule is as effective and well tolerated as b.i.d

Gravitational Duality in MacDowell-Mansouri Gauge Theory

Strong-weak duality invariance can only be defined for particular sectors of supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories. Nevertheless, for full non-Abelian non-supersymmetric theories, dual theories with inverted couplings, have been found. We show that an analogous procedure allows to find the dual action to the gauge theory of gravity constructed by the MacDowell-Mansouri model plus the superposition of a $\Theta$ term.Comment: 9 pages, LaTeX, no figure